Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Final Hour - Andrew Klavan

The Homelanders are attacking—and it's Charlie's last chance to stop them.

Charlie West was an ordinary high school kid who went to bed one night and woke up in the clutches of terrorists and wanted by the police for murder. He also woke up with no memory of the events of the last year.

His memory is returning now and has brought the terrible realization that he knows when the terrorists are going to strike next.

Whatever it takes, Charlie knows he can't give in or give up until they're stopped . . . even when the final hour is ticking away.

If you are a fan of the television show "24", then this is the book for you. The Final Hour was a deviation for me. If you'll look at my previous posts or at my favorites list, you'll see the genre of books that I usually read. I do like suspense books, like Dee Henderson, but I usually stray towards the solid stories with romance, which is unusual because I am not an overly romantic person...but, I digress.

The Final Hour was one of the first fiction books available to me from Thomas Nelson Publishers, so I ignored the fact that I don't usually read action-thriller books and jumped right in to review it.

I did discover one problem. This was the fourth and final book in a series. Whoops! That didn't stop me, though, and I actually found, with all the remembering that was done in the book, it filled in the gaps for me and made me want to go back and read the first three books. In fact, I recently purchased them, and they are in my TBR (To Be Read) pile.

I will admit, I read this book a little like I watch 24 (which I am currently in the process of watching because I've only seen the last 2 seasons), through my fingers at some of the gruesome parts. There are also some parts, much like 24, that seemed a little far-fetched, but in some ways that just adds to the story. It is fiction after all.

All-in-all, I thought it was well-written, and have actually recommended this series to my 15-year-old, who loves this sort of thing. The fact that the main character is relatively young, I thought would be a plus for her.

I think the moral of this review would be to jump outside your comfort zone and take chance. It's like the commercial said, "Try it. You'll like it." :-)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

About Me

My mother tells this story about me at 2 years old. I had a toy box full of toys, but she would always find me with my books out on the floor. I would put them in a line, pick them up, "read" them to myself, then place them in a stack. I would then put them in a circle around me, "read" them to myself, stack them up, and then repeat.
When I was 8, my favorite place was the library. When I was 16, I was reading my textbooks for new reading material. And on and on it goes.
Check my purse on any given day. I'll always have a book in there, just in case.
Now I love to share what I read with everyone in hopes that the books will take you where you've never been before.